1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a PC (Personal Computer) card having a plate-like card portion arranged to be inserted into a PC card slot and a cover box portion having a thickness larger than that of the card portion, and more particularly to a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) expansion PC card arranged to be inserted into a PC card slot provided for a portable personal computer or the like as, for example, a radio having an FM teletext broadcast receiving function.
2. Description of Related Art
A PCMCIA expansion PC card of the foregoing type having a structure as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 has been known. A PC card 2 shown in the drawings above is arranged to be inserted into a PC card slot formed in a portable personal computer as, for example, a radio having an FM teletext broadcast receiving function and composed of a plate-like card portion 60 arranged to be inserted into the PC card slot and a cover box portion 70 having a thickness larger than that of the card portion 60.
The card portion 60 has a base portion 74 composed of two rectangular columns 74A and 74B horizontally extending from a resin cover 71 of the cover box portion 70, a top cover 62 joined above the base portion 74 and made of stainless steel (SUS), an external connector 64 arranged to be connected to a connector of the PC card slot, a circuit board 65 on which the external connector 64 is mounted and other important electronic elements (not shown) are mounted and a bottom cover 68 joined below the base portion 74 and made of stainless steel (SUS).
On the other hand, the cover box portion 70 accommodates electronic elements (not shown) having a broadcast receiving function. On the outer surface of the cover box portion 70, for example, a volume adjustment knob, an antenna terminal and a headphone terminal (each of which is not shown) are disposed.
The card portion 60 of the PC card 2 having the above-mentioned structure is assembled in such a manner that the top cover portion 62, the circuit board 65 and the bottom cover 68 are stacked on the upper and lower surfaces of the base portion 74 integrated with the resin cover 71 of the cover box portion 70. Thus, the card portion 60 and the cover box portion 70 are integrated and inseparable from each other, that is, separation cannot be performed.
Therefore, whenever the design of the resin cover 71 is changed, molds for the corresponding elements must be again manufactured. As a result, the conventional structure is disadvantageous from a viewpoint of economy because the initial cost is enlarged excessively. What is worse, the dimensions and shape of the cover box portion are limited, thus raising a problem in that the design freedom is unsatisfactory and assembling cannot easily be performed.